Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-07-13
FAIRY LAMPS or THE SEA.
etarhsh That Sparkle Like Brilliant Gcma.
Phosphorescent JcIiynsh.

~
When the contents of a dredge ere
landed upon the deck at midday the Gu
rious shapes and colors Of animals alone
attract attention; but if they are ex-
amined at night they develop a new
beauty, cleaning with a wondrous light
that is so little understood. The star
6shes brought up al certain places are all
seemingly heated to a white heat, the
shams running up and down the arms,
making the animal a marvel of beauty.
Especially among the stars known as
ophinrans is the light most brilliant and
Interesting. Even the very young ones
sparkle like gems. A dredge has been
taken from a great depth fairly overflow
ing with these dazzling creatures, telling
. wonderful story Of the condition Of
things below the surface. These are the
lights of the bottom, and in shoaler water
we shall find anemones and corals emit
ting a wonderful light.
Perhaps the most striking light given
h a group Of polyps, growing upon a
stem three or four feet in length, resem-
bling a tall candlestick. The name of
this creature is the umbellularia, and it
wa first found ip deep water off the
coast of Greenland, the trawl bringing
up such large number that it was evident
that the ship had passed over a veritable
forest of them. Imagine a corn-6eld a
mile or so below the surface, the stalks
four feet long and the ears emitting a
golden greenish light of wonderful soft
ness: think of his as spread over acres
Of surface 10 an indefinite extent. the
lights waving here and there in gentle nm.
dulations: imagine fishes darling through
them with cleaning headlights, Others
outlined in fire. while far above are great
globes of light. with soft aureolas. and
come idea of this world beneath theSea
can be formed.
The iellyfsb. or nedus@. are among
the most remarkable of light giyers. and,
with few exceptions. they are luminous,
some being more so than others, and much
of the phosphorescence of the Pacific. as
seen from the decks of vessels, is due to
these creatures-that are 80 beautifully
formed and SO delicate in color, vet in
reality are az per cent. water: in ali ielly
fish ! per cent. will represent the solid
mart.
In some. rs p~elapia. the entire animal
IN luminous, its shane being outlined in
full. as II were. while in others only GER
tain -portions are LIGHT emitting Not onlv
Nm these creatures pbospborescent, but
the colors are different: some emit a
golden light: in Others IL is n green or
amre. and some seem 10 combine several
tints. Again, certain ones are luminous
all the time; others show their light in a
fitful way or when disturbed. and durinp
the autumn of the wear. when these
radiant creatures are hurled against the
rocks and ground up. their lights seem TO
combine in turning the entire ocean into
a seethine caldron.
Among the cnustaceans. or. as they are
commonly called. the crabs. we find some
Interesting LIGHT eiyers. Several wears
AGO some explorers ON o,r outbwestern
coast found that ms night came ON the
snow sludpe along shore rave ont light.
and when II was fully dark the disnlay
was extremely remarkable: at every stem
flashes Of light smashed about every-
where. tinted with an intense blue hue.
and the scene presented could be dunli.
Gated II IL were possible for man 10 walk
through molten metal. The LITTLE creature
that produced this light was extremely
UnaIl. hut what IL lacked in si,ptit made
up in numbers. the cold. lev water being
fairly alive with them. each one flashing
like a gem.
Probably nearly all of the deep sea forms
are light giyers. either over their entire
surface or upon certain places. One
which / cali TO mind has luminous
bands upon its legs, while another. with
an unpronounceable name. has luminous
ewes. The worms that hide in the mud
are brilliant light eivers, some emitting
lights of several colors. The sea plumes
and fans of the south are gorgeous in a
lilac light. In fact. in some plaees every.
thing brought IN the surface is a lipbt
eiver. 30 that we can well imagine thar
while the deep sea has no SUNLIGHT. ma
ture has done her best 10 comnensate for
the omission.
Even among the shells we find light
eiyers. The little cleodora. with lis little
fairy shin or she'll emits a light now Of
intense blue. again red or white. while
the pholas. the little bivalve that enters
solid rock with all the ease of the miner
has a brilliant blush light that continues
even after the death of the animal. and
AZ long @ as the time of Pliny a writer
said thai those who diped upon the
,lsnlae .nnaaraJ 20 Ia aat;ro 6ra % r;,;d